HISTORY

Hay Cottage represents the oldest surviving privately constructed residence in the Pine Rivers area originally built in 1869 by from locally felled timber by a Mr Goetz as a worker’s cottage. It was originally located about ½ mile off the Petrie / Terror’s Creek Road at Rush Creek. This is now known as Strong Road.

It was then sold to Mr Charles Hay who with his wife, Jane raised their family of 5 children in the cottage. Charles Hay was born in Ayrshire Scotland and his wife was from “Gordonvale” at North Pine. They married in 1885 and obtained an agricultural holding over 800 acres which included the worker’s cottage at Rush Creek.

Red cedar forms a large percentage of the timber used throughout the house with wide variations visible in the width of the internal wall planks. Red cedar was common in the area then. The flooring is straight cut from Australian Beech timbers which over the years shrunk to leave gaps (handy for sweeping the dust away), probably quite cold in winter when the winds blew. The cottage originally had a single roof which had to be replaced by the iron version which you see now. Some examples of the original shingles and nails are displayed in the cottage.

In July 1989 the cottage was moved to its present location at Roderick Cruice Park by the Dayboro Lions Club and the Pine Rivers Shire Council.

Photos of the original family and historical items are on display at the cottage.